I was thrilled to find the illustrated mushrooms under Red Pine in central Illinois . . . and then spent a year and a half trying to identify them. The specimens were dried out, though I didn't know it. Limacella had not crossed my radar screen before this, and I was relying on keys (my own included) that emphasize sliminess in order to arrive at the genus. Mycologist Andrew Methven took one look at the scan to the right, however, and put me on the right track--an illustration of several important points:

The difference between real experts and ones who merely have Web sites with the word "expert" in the title;

The pitfalls of focusing too sharply on one feature of a mushroom or a mushroom description; and

The fact that slime dries out quickly in arid conditions.

Limacella glioderma (which is more properly known as Limacella delicata var. glioderma) is distinct among other Limacella species by virtue of its reddish brown cap, its dry stem that features shaggy zones of fibers, and its mealy odor.

Description:

Ecology: Possibly mycorrhizal or saprobic; growing alone or gregariously under hardwoods or conifers; summer and fall; fairly widely distributed in North America.

Gills: Free from the stem or attached by a tiny notch; close; whitish at first, becoming pinkish.

Stem: 4-12 cm long; .5-1 cm thick; more or less equal; shaggy with reddish brown patches and scales in vaguely concentric patterns; sometimes with an ephemeral ring zone but lacking a true ring; whitish under the fibers and scales. In my collection the originally slimy partial veils had dried out and fragmented, becoming reminiscent of cortinas.